Wobbling slightly, Streetwise tried to shake off the dizzying effects of the bounce as the light faded. All of this...their...ceasefire with the Decepticons...the Fallen....all of it raced through the interceptor's mind. Losing Optimus had only been the first blow. Now, everything seemed to be giving way to even greater nightmares.

Nothing you can do about it right now, Street. Focus on what you can do.

Streetwise remembered Ultra Magnus and the wisdom that he had displayed. It reassured the unnerved interceptor. He was glad that Magnus had come to lead them. Looking up with somewhat lightened spirits, Streetwise took in the room's remaining inhabitants. There were few. Kup. Hot Shot. Ironhide. And Groove.

Stepping down from the bounce pad, Streetwise mulled over the details of the treeline and shoreline as well as the direction that Decepticon reinforcements had come from and committed it all to memory. Even though the two factions had set aside their differences for the time being, it would still be useful to know the general location of the Decepticon earth base. Any detail could help. Streetwise was determined to be of use. He hadn't been there in the search for Optimus.

Streetwise grimaced as he walked toward the door, feeling the sand grate on his internal mechanisms. He needed to clean them out before he did anything else. Fantastic. That was what he got for driving on sand with a crazed Combaticon firing away at you. The interceptor tried to avoid excessive movement as he edged toward the door. Groove, however, soon walked over to him. Streetwise smiled companionably at his teammate as he invited him to a trip to the med bay.

"Sure thing, Groove. Love to. I've got sand in all the wrong places from distracting Brawl. That little gambit could've ended ugly if Ultra Magnus hadn't called the ceasefire when he did."

Streetwise kept moving out of the Bounce Chamber as he talked, happy to have Groove along.

Once Ultra Magnus had granted him permission to enter, Wheeljack crossed the threshold of the ready room and quickly made his way to the desk at the far side where he took a seat just as the City Commander had stated as much. The follow up comment regarding the faux Cosmic Rust incident in his lab made the mechanical engineer flinch slightly, but hopefully it was not too noticeable. ‘Jack had expected this and had an answer all set and ready to be delivered.

“Yes, Commander Magnus," Wheeljack began as the larger mech slowly sat down behind the desk. “Everything has been taken care of, sir. There is no sign of Cosmic Rust anywhere and Smokescreen has improved greatly. He’s still breaking in his new body, but he should be at 100% within a few more cycles give or take. He’s currently assigned to my lab here on the Ark so I can keep a close optic on him just in case. Smokey was helping me anyway when he got infected so it made sense for him to hang around a little longer. I don’t anticipate a relapse, but I’d rather err on the side of caution in this instance." The scientist saw no need to bring up Tracer’s involvement in all this as it could lead to more questions that were better left avoided. As it were, the City Commander quickly moved on to more important matters.

As a holographic display appeared over the desk in front of both mechs, Ultra Magnus wasted no time in bringing Wheeljack up to speed on the current assignment of the scouting team lead by Prowl along with long term plans to build a permanent Autobot Colony on the surface. The area in question was a secluded valley where enough natural energies could be found to power such a city for the foreseeable future. It was just a matter of how to tap and convert such energies into what they needed in order to maintain a large base like what the City Commander was proposing.

The mechanical engineer leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knee plates, as he studied the glowing images in front of his optics. For a brief moment, he had forgotten all about Smokescreen and his troubled femme friend, Tracer. The possibilities here were endless and the Autobot scientist’s skills would be put to excellent use in such an environment. Not to mention, there would be no chance of becoming bored.

“I see," Wheeljack stated with a sense of awe as Magnus continued on, revealing the schematics of an old space bridge design, one that the white mech had not seen in countless vorns. It had been quite some time since this type of transportation technology had been utilized by either faction during the war, but that did not mean it couldn’t be reinvented for the modern era. Not only did the City Commander want the space bridge redesigned, but he wanted the scientist to invent all new additional technologies with the help of a team of Autobots comprised of Hoist, Ironfist and Blaster. This was certainly going to be a big undertaking, one that would pull him away from Tracer’s problems, leaving only Smokescreen and likely Axle to handle her continuing Syk addiction and mental issues.

But I can’t say no to this, Wheeljack conceded to himself as he sat back in his chair. Not only was Ultra Magnus his commanding officer who was giving him a new set of orders to fulfill, but the white mech also did not want to be left out of such a challenging task. This was the exact type of thing that he lived for. Besides, there was simply no way around it. The assignment was far too important and would require the majority of his attention for the foreseeable cycles in order for everything to be invented and constructed properly. The Autobot cause depended on it. Smokey and the others would just have to understand and find a way to handle things without the scientist’s constant help.

This was not to say that Wheeljack was going to abandon his friends completely. He’d still be able to help once and a while. He just wouldn’t be around all of the time like he had been in recent cycles. They would find a way to make it work no matter what.

“Well, that certainly is a tall order, Commander," the mechanical engineer replied once Ultra Magnus had finished with the initial briefing. “However, I’m definitely the mech for the job, and I look forward to the challenge with utmost vigor. It’s been a while since I’ve had an assignment of this scale, but I’m sure that with a team like those you have mentioned, we’ll be able to succeed in this endeavor. Perhaps we could also bring in Perceptor on this. Last time I checked he was studying a new found ore with the potential of generating a potent new form of energon if refined properly. I’m not sure how far he’s gotten, but it might be something to think about."

Wheeljack paused for a moment as he considered what questions he had for the City Commander before moving on. The scientist had so many, but he would not overburden Magnus with minor ones that only an engineer would be able to figure out, anyway. Instead, the white mech looked for some clarification regarding this new global space bridge that had to be redesigned and constructed. “Sir, when you say ‘global space bridge’ it sounds like you want some kind of, what’s the right description? Ground bridge? Is it your intention that you want a portal that would allow us to travel around the planet instantaneously without the use of orbital bounces? If that is the case, then your typical space bridge design will require a major overhaul and downsizing as it was intended for travel through vast distances across space and not shorter ones around a single planet. It can be done, of course, but it will be more than just a simple refinement I’m afraid."

Air Raid arrived late to the Bounce Chamber, and seemed that technical errors were following him where ever he goes, but it was just a few seconds and he was sure that it won't hurt. The Aerialbot was still unsure of what happened back in the yellow sea, he wanted to ask someone about it.

Something was coming up on Air Raid's comm link:

"Slingshot to Fireflight, Skydive and Air Raid. Looks like we've got our own friendly haven to call our own. Meet on Deck 6 of the Ark 22. We can bring this space up to our standards... before Fearless Freap returns from his little scouting assignment"

Air Raid knew it was a chance for him to ask someone about all the slag that happened down at the Yellow Sea.

Deck 6 - Aerialbot Barracks

Air Raid arrived the Airforce Hanger Bay, the place was a bit of empty, the Aerialbots are few, and it's not unlikely that the number could get fewer sometime when one of us turns to scrap.

The Aerialbot walked towards Slingshot

"Hey Sling, you know i came late in the last mission and missed out all the action" Air Raid paused, glancing his partner's ''Trophies''

"I didn't understand anything of what was going on, Autobots and Decipticons having a truce, and the Fallen is a living legend, and i am hearing the name Hot Rod all the time, can you tell me what the frag was going on?" Air Raid asked Slingshot.

Tracer eagerly took Smokescreen’s hand in her own and trailed along with him through several halls. Along the way they encountered several other ‘Bots but none of them seemed too interested in either one of them. Not enough to warrant full on conversations, thankfully. Instead they offered both her and Smokey a simple nod or a smile. On a couple occasions there were a few words exchanged but nothing long enough to keep them from moving forward. Tracer tried not to draw attention to her and when acknowledged personally the femme offered a simple nod and a brief smile.

Everything seemed so new, at least to Tracer. She didn’t recognize anything, not even the horrid orange paint brought back any memories. Then again, according to Smokecreen she wasn’t even assigned to this ship. “Yeah. I’m alright." She said as she lifted her gaze from the floor to look the rallybot in the optics as he glanced back at her.

One final corner and Smokescreen stopped. Before them was the open expanse of the docking ring that would lead them onto the Guardian…the ship that she was assigned to for vorns. Tracer stared for several moments, her optics focused intently on the end of the ring. Her attention was then pulled to her escort as he prepared her for their next move…locate her quarters. But it was not him who would be leading she would have to do it. “I’ll…" She paused and turned her head so she could look at Smokescreen. “I’ll try." The femme flashed him an unsure smile before looking down the docking ring. She took in a deep intake and took the first step onto the docking ring.

It had taken Fireflight a little longer than usual to get where he was going, as it usually did, but he finally made it to the area where he had been told he and the other Aerialbots would be meeting. He had stopped and chit-chatted with a couple of different Autobots along the way, so he didn't feel too bad about running behind. A little non-threatening, non-war chatting did everybody some good from time to time.

Walking in and hearing the last part of the ongoing conversation, it sounded like that was going to come to an end real quick.

"The fallen what?" Fireflight interjected as he walked over to pour himself some crude oil mix that might help his pistons start firing on a few more cylinders and focus.

Ultra Magnus let slip a knowing grin. "That is persicely what I mean Wheeljack. Currenly orbital bounces leave us vulnerable to detection by the Decepticons. The energies alone will leave a ship exposed or a relay compromised, provided a Decepticon is utilizing a watchful optics on passive energy sensors. The spike may not locate the origin but the terminus on the planet surface could be triangulated given enough time and experience... which we both know the Decepticons and particularly Soundwave has in abundance."

The Autobot Commander paused briefly as he allowed what he proposed to further turn the inventor's mental gears of probabilities. There was much that could be developed from these older technologies and even newer uses could be discovered. Furthermore, refinement of bridge technology could be used for more militaristic purposes beyond the simple movement of mech and materials two and from battlefields. In addition there were other reasons for the development of that technology. They needed an advantage on this world beyond the permanent colony he charged Wheeljack to construct. "I know this is a tough haul for anyone Wheeljack. But I am giving you the green light. Or perhaps a better phrase could be used, I want you and your team to take the safeties off."

Magnus paused briefly again. This time he reached down and toggled the holographic display controls. The green wire holographic mesh flickered and desolved from the old Space Bridge Gateway schematics. The room went dark for a nanosecond before the wire mesh reconstructed itself into an enlarged version of the older Teletrann Sky Spy modules. "The bridges are not the only technology I wish to see repurposed. Once the Global Space Bridge is in operation, I want to make it the sole mode of instant transportation on the planet."

The smaller satellite rotated before splitting into four quarter images of diagrams, internal schematics and other points of view. "I want your team to work on an orbital defensive grid to surround the planet. Invisible to the native population, that goes without saying, as well as prying optics of the Decepticons." His voice trailed off briefly as his gaze settled on Wheeljack. "This satellite network will become our optics and audio receptors of the planet, but they can do that already. I want you to add another function. This planet must become inaccessable for the Decepticons, or at least make them expend larger amounts of energon to try to traverse the distances between where ever the scrap they are now, to where ever they go and back. Thus I want your team to develop a bounce nullification grid. A shield over this planet that will prevent unauthorized transport two and from the surface via the Bounce Systems."

Ultra Magnus gave the engineer another few moments to absorb the largest task he has been assigned in quite sometime. "I thank you for accepting this assignment Wheeljack. Requesition which ever specialist you need. Perceptor would make a fine addition to your team and I will leave it to you to assemble them. I have already given the appropriate authorization for resource procurement for your task."

With that the holographic projection system deactivated and Magnus stood up to full height. "Again, I realize this may be an overwhelming task. But we all have faith in you and your fellow engineers." He offered a reassuring handshake before allowing the engineer a firm nod of dismissal. Now Magnus had started the wheels turning. The first pebble had been tossed against the mound of debris, soon that would grow into an avalanche of advancement and turn the tide of this dismal war.

Slingshot adjusted the bent thrust vent from Thrust blown off during the battle over the desert not too long before. His audio receptors were keenly aware of the comings and goings outside of the large bay doors that seperated his recently claimed haven of privacy from the rest of the ship's population. Thus he was not surprised that the first set of footsteps to actually give pause to the new arched cybertronian script sign lining the top of the doors, actually began entering an activation code to the security locks that had been installed.

"Glad to see you finally managed to find you way back to the land of the semi compotent Air Raid." The snide comment meant to pull the insecurity back into the dark recesses of his personality. He did not need to let the absolute crazy of the squadron to actually see the true success story have a shadow of self doubt, Slingshot would never live it down.

He pulled out a custom metal sign from the box that held his trophies and hung it below the twisted metallic component. 'Thrust's thruster.' "At least one of us managed to at least live up to our potential." The sharpshooter pivoted on his heel and glared up at the slightly larger and decidedly more powerful flier. "Maybe next time you'll actually show up to briefings rather than follow a flight plan logged by one Navigator Fireflight."

The large doors slid open once again. "Speak of the scrapper himself. And where have you been. Let me guess got lost looking for Sprockets again." Slingshot released a loud laugh as he walked over and slapped the hapless navigator and the couragious flier on their respective shoulders. Not necessarily devoid of malice, but decidedly not entirely a sign of friendship. They were, after all, a relatively new squadron of misfits.

"The Fallen? Oh yeah. Appears ole Hot Rod was playing host to some eon's old godlike Prime bent on the destruction of our entire race just for the scrap of it. Shame, seemed like a nice kid too." Slingshot gave a flip of his wrist over his head as he made his way to the claimed charging slab near his trophies. "Not that it matters for us anyways. We got more important things to worry about. Like how I managed to best not only one of the Decepticon's premier fliers in Thrust, cowardly or not, as well as their two big brusiers in Blitzwing and Astrotrain."

He turned again to face his squadron members. "Thats right, I got those multiform freaks in a single shot. Who wants to touch me so they can experience greatness?"

Motto:"I can totally prove that I'm not a zombie! Just lean over hear, and let me take a little nibble out of your brains."

Weapon: Double Barrelled Shell Launcher

Corridors

Groove smiled as Streetwise joined him, glad to have the company as they walked to the medical bay.

"Yes, thank Primus for Ultra Magnus' decision..... though, I guess it wouldn't be appropriate to thank Primus considering the circumstances."

Groove's processors still had some trouble grasping that The Fallen had really returned. Despite the fact that he had directly encountered him earlier, and had sensed before that there was something sinister within the mech that had once been Hot Rod, it still seemed like something out of a deep recharge cycle. Of course the soreness of his armor plating and servos was a good reminder that he was awake.

"It seems somewhat surreal, doesn't it?", he asked his fellow Protectobot, "First we have to come to terms with one of our greatest fears, when Optimus disappears without a trace. And now we face something that has haunted the nightmares of our kind since the very beginning of Cybertronian society."

As Groove finished his sentence the two reached the door to the medical bay, an afterthought occured to the scout.

"You don't suppose they're connected, do you Streetwise?", the scout looked at Streetwise as the medical bay door opened, "That it's not just a coincidence that The Fallen returns when Optimus vanishes?"

Security Office

Red Alert came to a screeching halt as he reached his office, transforming back to his robot mode right in front of the door. After making a quick survey of the surrounding area, he went through the drawn out process of entering his lengthy security code, which took almost a breem, before the door slid open for him.

Out of habit the security director did a visual inspection of his office, but found that everything had been as he'd left it. With a sigh of relief he went to his computer terminal.

I have to do this right, get everything that I know and have witnessed reported correctly. Unfortunately I don't have any concrete evidence, but I should have enough to at least take one or two mechs into custody for questioning.

Reaching behind the monitor, he pulled out a cable and extended it to the back of his head, where he connected it to an output port. After keying in a series of commands and security codes, he downloaded information from his own hard drive that pertained to everything he had witnessed since he first noticed the "unusual smell" that led to the shuttle bay. Visual, audio, and especially data from his olfactory sensors- he wanted it to be clear that there was a connection involving the turbofox he had been chasing.

The entire ordeal with Hot Rod is serious, I understand that., he thought to himself, But I'm sure Kup and the Protectobots are capable of handling it for now. Right now I need answers about that missing shuttle, and just what Wheeljack is up to. It can't just be a coincident that it all happened at the same time that the Dinobots stole the Ark-19.

Once the pertinent data had finished downloading to the computer terminal, Red Alert removed the data jack from his head, then went to work sorting out the necessary data into a report for Prowl. A scowl came across his face as he thought of the strategist.

Maybe you weren't leading a conspiracy, but that's still no excuse to lie to me about matters of security. If I don't know what's going on, then I can't do my job properly, you of all mechs should know that, Prowl. We've worked together with Autobot Security and Intelligence enough times that you should be able to trust me.

After several kliks and reading it over three times, Red Alert felt he had filed all that he could, and downloaded the report onto a datapad. The security director then tried to open a comm-link to Prowl, but got nothing.

"What? Is he not here?", Red Alert asked incredulously as he went to his terminal to search for the strategist, only to find that Prowl had bounced down to Earth some time ago, "Slag! So who do I....."

Going back to the computer he searched for whomever was the next ranking officer and their location, guessing that it would be Kup or possibly Hot Spot. The answer the computer gave him both surprised and infuriated him.

"ULTRA MAGNUS!?!", he shouted, "When did he even arrive in this system?!? I should have been informed before he even got here!"

Red Alert fumed. There was no doubt that the next time he saw Prowl, the strategist would get a big piece of his mind. But right now he had to hold back his anger and report his findings to their current commander. He opened a comm link, holding back his frustrations.

>>Red Alert to Ultra Magnus. Sir, I need to speak with you as soon as possible about a security matter that I've been investigating for the past several cycles. I believe it is connected to the Dinobot's theft of the Ark-19. <<

Before Ultra Magnus gave a reply Red Alert grabbed the datapad and left his office, locking the door behind him with another exceedingly long security code. He then proceeded toward the captain's ready room.

Streetwise returned Groove's smile with a companionable one of his own. He enjoyed being part of a team. The interceptor was no stranger to going it alone, seeing as how he often tailed the Decepticons to wherever they decided to retreat to, but he enjoyed having back-up that he knew he could count on. Streetwise offered Groove a wry smile when he mentioned thanking Primus not being appropriate.

"Dark times they are right now, but...I trust Ultra Magnus's judgement. He's no Optimus - no one could replace him - but he is the best mech for the job."

A sigh escaped Streetwise's intakes as he thought of their lost leader. If only he could have gone down there and searched. Find something that they might've missed before. He briefly considered asking Ultra Magnus to let him go down and search through the rubble rock by slagging rock until he found some sort of sign of Optimus. Not knowing what had really happened to their leader was almost worse than seeing his broken body strewn across the battlefield because the nagging flame of hope could incite more torment than the death of Optimus could. The interceptor pushed those thoughts away when his fellow Protectobot spoke up again.

"Yeah," Streetwise said as they reached the medical bay doors, "We come face to face with the very bogeyman - as the humans say - that we were told stories about as protoforms to make us behave. I'd swear I was in deep recharge cycle if it weren't for this infernal sand grating on my internal mechanisms. The Fallen..."

Streetwise looked at Groove more intently as he mentioned that the two events might be connected. The interceptor frowned as thoughts raced through his processor.

"I wouldn't put anything past the Fallen. If it is the Fallen's doing, it's a pretty ingenious master stroke. By doing away with both Optimus and Megatron, both sides would be in disarray, making it a prime time to strike. The Decepticons...will probably fight amongst themselves and weaken in process. The Fallen...could probably strike at the Decepticons then, and the Autobots would be all that was left."

"Or the Fallen could just be taking advantage of the current situation, although that seems a bit too coincidental to me. Either way, we're in deep slag, Groove. I hope this truce with the Decepticons pans out."

An after thought struck Streetwise. He figured it was the least he could say to try to stay optimistic for his friend. The interceptor had been a bit worried for his friend since he seemed to hold himself personally accountable for some of what happened.

"Hey, if this all works out in the end, maybe it'll be the first step toward real peace. We just have to take things one cycle at a time," Streetwise added with a smile.

------

Bridge

Arcee stood from where she had been sitting for what seemed like vorns and stretched her aching servos. She glanced over to the bridge's only other occupant, Springer. She wondered if she hadn't accidentally slipped into a recharge cycle after chatting with Springer about Cybertron. It was strange how much time had passed without anyone reentering the bridge. Arcee felt a restless need to go walking about the ship to find out the latest news.

The pink warrior walked over to the triple changer with her characteristic sweet smile, unease darkening her otherwise gentle features.

"Springer, it's been too quiet. I'm worried if something happened. Would you care to join me to find someone to give us the latest news?"

Fireflight rolled his optics at Slingshot's attempt at taunting him, still smiling in the process though. It was just Slingshot being Slingshot, and Fireflight had long ago learned to accept that.

"Sprockets. Yeah. Something like that. This planet really is something else. Easy to get distracted with what all they've got going on down there. Thankfully Slingshot didn't feel the need to simply taunt him, and provided an answer to his question. Thought it wasn't the answer Fireflight had been expecting. Not by a long shot.

"Oh...okay. Do what now? That Fallen? Huh...," Fireflight began, obviously a little bewildered now as he began to think about the ramifications of Slingshot's answer. He thought maybe Ultra Magnus or Prowl had taken a nasty spill. And maybe someone laughed. And maybe they ended up in the brig for laughing. But this was a little more important than that. A little being exponentially. He continued to listen as Slingshot switched up the subject at hand from the Fallen to the battle he had been in, but Fireflight quickly switched it back.

"Yeah, greatness. Good job on the trips," Fireflight said, allowing his compatriot's ego to get stroked a little, if only to get back on to the more pressing topic at hand. Bringing up a basic search screen on the monitor in front of him, Fireflight began to dig in to the archives of the Autopedia.

"So...I'm guessing someone's making a plan, right? Right? Or are we just counting down to our extinction? If the Fallen was inside Hot Rod..that....that compromises us on so many levels I can't even began to think about it. I bet Red Alert's spark collapsed on itself. We're kinda dead. I wonder if it's too late to become a NAIL. The Fallen probably wouldn't care anyway. Man...this sucks."

Wheeljack listened carefully as Ultra Magnus confirmed that a ground bridge was exactly what he was looking for the scientist and his team to rebuild from old space bridge designs. The goal here was an ambitious one, resulting in the replacement of current orbital bounce systems as a means of transportation around the planet. Instead, the ground bridge, as the mechanical engineer had already come to call it, would satisfy those needs and be nearly impossible for the Decepticons, especially Soundwave, to track. The green light was given. All ‘Jack needed to do was make it a reality. It was a lot to tackle, but the scientist would not be doing it alone. Iron Fist, Hoist, Blaster and hopefully even Perceptor would be a part of the team. They would provide all of the help the white mech needed.

“Consider the safeties off, Commander," Wheeljack responded to the City Commander as Magnus toggled the controls of the holographic display, brining up another set of older schematics. This time it was the Teletraan Sky Spy modules. Intriguing, the engineer thought as the images danced over the table between them. Magnus then went on the explain that he wanted this old technology altered to not only handle planetary communications and observations, but to also create a shield of sorts that would prevent the Decepticons from using their own orbital bounce systems. It was another lofty goal, but one that ‘Jack felt certain that he could succeed in accomplishing with the help of his team of capable mechs.

Wheeljack was then given the okay to requisition any expert that he required for the multiple tasks assigned to him and his team, including Perceptor. Once that was done, the holographic display disappeared as Ultra Magnus stood from his chair. The mechanical engineer followed suit and gave the Autobot Commander a firm handshake. “I thank you for this opportunity, Commander Magnus. My team and I won’t let you down."

With an unspoken nod of dismissal given, Wheeljack wasted no more time as he quickly turned and exited the captain’s ready room. There was a lot of work to be done and very little time in which to do it. First and foremost the team needed to be called together in his lab for an initial briefing on what needed to be accomplished. It would likely become a brainstorming session that would give them a clear indication on how to proceed. It was an overwhelming set of tasks, but once a game plan was established it would make things moving forwards so much easier.

Corridors

Wait an astrosec, Wheeljack thought as he left the bridge and stopped in the middle of the hallway. What about Smokescreen and Tracer? They’re in my lab. I can’t have my team working around them. What if Tracer goes nuts again. Everything we’ve been up to recently could be exposed. Slaggit!! It had become obvious that the engineer’s lab would not be to best place for the team to assemble. However, last time 'Jack checked, Perceptor was working in the main science lab on the Ark-22, which should be more than adequate to service the needs of the team.

With that settled, Wheeljack then opened a comm line to his newly established group of scientific minds, making sure the signal reached over to the Guardian, as well:

>>"Perceptor, Iron Fist, Hoist, Blaster, this is Wheeljack. Under orders from Ultra Magnus, himself, we are all reassigned to a special science team that has been given the important assignment of developing and constructing new technologies as well as rebuilding old ones in an effort to establish an Autobot colony down on the planet Earth beneath us. Please meet in the science lab on the Ark-22 for a further, more detailed briefing and a subsequent brainstorming session on what needs to be accomplished. See you all there soon. Wheeljack out."<<

With his message sent, Wheeljack cut his comm line and started walking again. Instead of heading directly to the science lab, the mechanical engineer made his way back to his own. There was no rush as it would take time for the others to drop whatever they were currently doing and gather what they needed to bring with them. Besides, if ‘Jack was a little late to the proceedings then so be it. He needed to first inform Smokescreen and Tracer about his reassignment before making sure that they both knew how to properly work the replicator just in case he wasn’t around to create another batch of Syk. The scientist also needed to double check the reconfiguration to verify that the hallucinogen element was at the proper dosage. Once all that was done, the white mech would join his fellow colleagues down in the science lab.

Perhaps I should just replicate myself. It would certainly be easier if I was at two places at once, Wheeljack thought as he entered a turbo lift that would take him back down to the lower levels of the Ark. Of course, considering how the first batch of reproduced Syk turned out, perhaps cloning himself wouldn’t be such a good idea. The last thing anyone needed was a crazy doppelgänger of an already mad scientist running around. After all, Wheeljack was more than capable of doing enough damage by himself. On second thought, maybe not.

Jetfire had busied himself in recent time working on his thrusters in his quarters. He was forever on a quest to push the efficiency of the engines, well aware that achieving 100% was impossible just due to the laws of physics. Still he wanted to see how far he could push it, both for his personal interest and for greater use for other Autobots. If he could find a particular design or fuel mixture that was more efficient then it meant that his fellow fliers would use less energy, not to mention the massive vessels most Autobots used to move around the galaxy. The war often boiled down to who had the most fuel and so whoever used less of it would be in a decided advantage.

Having reached a an efficiency number he could not surpass at the moment the Autobot flier decided to leave his quarters for awhile and see what else was happening on the vessel. Since he had not been called up for any recent missions he didn’t have any need to bother the command staff. Instead he ventured to the science lab, a place he often found himself drawn towards. He was not surprised to see Perceptor inside the room busy working on his research.

“Hello Perceptor. I hope I am not intruding. I was doing some work in my quarters but I reached an impasse and decided to see what else was going on. Perhaps I could help you on the work you are doing here?" Jetfire glanced over Perceptor’s shoulder at the console he, easy to do as he stood a good deal taller then the scientist. “I see you are working on a new fuel variant? I was working on something similar." He paused as he studied the compound. “This is very interesting, and quite a breakthrough. How did you come up with this compound? Have you done any tests with it?"

An impasse. Something no scientist wished to be at. And yet here he was. One of the greatest minds Cybertron had to offer and yet he could go no further. Perceptor was able to get several samples of the ore refined, but he had no way of testing the concoctions. Oh he could utilize several engines, but they would not be able to provide him with the necessary feedback he required.

The scientist turned sniper sat staring, ever since Ultra Magnus left his lab, just thinking. His suggestion of using himself as a test subject was enthusiastically shot down. So now he was left back at square one. And it was that particular square that he despised.

He heard the door open but instead of moving into position to intercept the intruder, Preceptor simply sat staring. The sound of Jetfire’s voice did nothing to jar him from his fit. "Jetfire," was his curt response. His optics remained focused on the canisters that sat ready for testing before him while the other scientist spoke and eventually quarried on his work.

“It would seem I am at an impasse. I have refined this ore, but I am unable to test it." Perceptor leaned back in his chair and looked up to his visitor for the first time. “I offered to test it on myself but Ultra Magnus denied my request. So now I’m sitting here trying to decide whether or not I will go against his orders."

Jetfire was a good friend and has, no doubt, come across the same situation. “Perhaps with you here now I will be able to perform the tests I require. You can monitor me while…." The microscope paused as he received a comm from Wheeljack. Wonderful. Perceptor grit his teeth and opened a link with the engineer. If they were to meet there was no reason not to do it here in his lab. >>"Wheeljack, we can utilize my lab. I am already here. I also believe Jetfire can be of help during this assignment. He is here as well."<<

Perceptor cast his gaze up at the taller mech and offered a slight nod. “It would seem I have been pulled from my work. Wheeljack, Blaster, Ironfist and Hoist will be joining us."

The corridors of the Ark-22 were rather quiet. The silence bothered the Autobots' Chief Communications Officer. He preferred things loud at a minimum. Everything had gone quiet after they had lost contact with Optimus, but this...silence had an ominous feel to it. The group had returned from the surface with medical drones. One of them would surely know what had happened down on the surface. Blaster opened a comm link to Eject.

>>"Eject, can do you me a favor? I need you to find out what happened down on Earth. Keep me updated. I'm going to be stuck in a lab for a long time with Wheeljack and Perceptor. Oh, and the Ravens won the superbowl."<<

With his message sent, Blaster worked himself up to go inside the lab as he neared the door. He was going to need all of his skills to survive. Perhaps...he was being overly dramatic. Maybe this would be an exciting experience! As the humans said, Blaster would not hold his breath. Blaster punched in the access code to the door, and smiled amiably at the science lab's two occupants.

"Bah-weep-Graaaaagnah wheep mini bong! Jetfire, I wasn't expecting you to join us but welcome all the same. How are things going for the both of you?"

Ironfist tugged nervously at the satchel he grabbed before leaving his quarters onboard the Guardian. His fingers fidgetted with the synthetic fiber straps as his scanners pegged the largest collection of assigned teammember transponders. A few moments of silence and the weapons engineer finalized his path through the maze of cooridors leading towards the Science Lab. It made as good a place as any, given it had a larger access to stable equipment.

Not to say Wheeljack's quarters or office was not approprately equiped, but Ironfist had been given first hand experiences with the experimental technology the inventor kept around. It took him a cycle to get the splotches out of his optical grid.

Releasing the magnetic locks on his satchel, Ironfist made sure his personalized tools and scanners were all intact and accounted for. When satisfied he pressed the access chime to the compartment and nearly fell over Blaster as the doors slid clear. Brushing off the stumble with aplomb, the engineer stablized his gate and emerged from behind the communication specialist.

"Not necessarily a mission for Wreck and Rule. But I am here to offer my services, such as they are."

Slingshot laughed again as he pounded Fireflight on the shoulder. "No need to worry that GPS of yours Flight ole pal. If the Fallen does bother to show himself again, which he probably will, I am sure the sight of our most esteamed fearless leader will send him packing." He laughed again shaking his head, this time walking away towards an empty ammunition rack.

The sharp shooter placed a bare hand on one of the prongs meant for a thermite rocket pod, its empty harness a sad reminder of how under supplied a great deal of the forces in the sector had become over the vorns. Slingshot knew full well that the supply lines for both sides had become razor thin, and planets with any symbolance of resources were prized commodities. Slingshot's laughter subsided as swiftly as it had begun. Planets like this one were rare gems in the galaxy...

The Aerialbot inwardly sighed. If it ever came to battling the Fallen, Slingshot knew full well he would be of no use. Oh sure he could clear the skies of any Decepticon dumb enough to aid the godlike beastie. But to take on a deity? Not even that coward commander Silverbolt, who trumped him in every statistic except brains and fortitude, would have no chance against him. Perhaps it was best not to dwell on what at present he could not control. Perhaps he could direct the efforts of the team towards helping the research that Ultra Magnus required. Problem was, the Aerialbots were a combat unit, not a team for research and analysis... well except for Sky Dive who would rather read tech manuals and flight briefings than actually get into a scrap with the cons.

"Regardless of how it boils down," he began, his voice clear of emotion and a rare time as sincere as he could manage. Perhaps the best he could to reassure his comrade. "I am sure that Ultra Magnus will do what ever he can to make sure Hardhead, Hot Rod and that other guy is brought back free and clear. And in that, we've got to get ourselves into gear and be ready for that flight dispatch order."

He pivoted on his heel and allowed the stoic expression to melt away into a mischevious grin. "In the meantime, I suggest we get to work on our little Flybots Only haven. I managed to wrangle an old flight simulator from below decks to be brought up. So lets get this place ship shape for its arrival. Then mech with the lowest score buys two rounds." He stepped over to Air Raid and elbowed the flier in the gut plates. "How you like that proposal Ace. I'm sure you've got yourself a few credits from all those shadow kills you been getting while you've been away."

Air Raid carefully lessened to Slingshot's "explanation" of the whole fallen thing, and he is not shocked about what happened, or he may be simply hiding it away from his comrades, Air Raid was unsuspecting such would happen. Hot Rod was always strange, but he never though he will turn out to be some spawn of Unicron, if Ultra Magnus does manage to find a way to eliminate the fallen without killing Hot Rod, he is okay with it, but the Decipticons will probably mind that as one less autobot is good for them, and if Hot Rod has to die, Air Raid is going to make sure he doesn't die by the hands of a Decipticon, the Aerialbot rather him die by his hands.

Silverbot then challenged Air Raid to friendly competition, a competition only the Aerialbots could participate in, Air Raid didn't got the chance to hone his skills in battle at the last mission, but is always eager for more, he has lot's preparation and energy for whatever would happen and this simulation will be great for him, he may also get some free rounds from whoever will suck at the simulation.

The Aerialbot raised his face, "Credits, eh?, a simulation of me winning and you losing is always good...for me at least, so what? is it pure racing or we get to kill some simulated con slag? i am up for both, i can speed myself ahead of you or kill cons while you watch, no problem" responded Air Raid, showing self-confidence that he will win despite the challenge, even though this bragging may get him to trouble if he loses.

Fireflight had chuckled good-naturedly at Slingshot's attempt to reassure him that the Fallen's return would be no big concern. Fireflight knew better, but he wasn't going to dwell on it any more than Slingshot seemed to want to. Fireflight imagined dealing with the Fallen to be a lot like dealing with forcible spark extraction. You can't really prepare for it. You just deal with it, to whatever end.

His expression turned a little more quizzical as Slingshot mentioned some flight simulator that was on some other deck of the ship and being brought here. He was with him on the challenges, right up until Slingshot said something about cleaning this habitation suite prior to the device's arrival.

That wasn't what the Aerialbot had signed up for when he had made the trek from the Guardian over to here, but oh well.

"Yeah. All right. Cleaning. Woo woo," Fireflight said with zero enthusiasm in his tone, but he set himself to completing the chores anyway.

"Why do we need a sim? Aren't there enough real 'Cons out there? I hear all the big Seekers are stationed in this sector. Maybe while we're doing your little sim we can start taking bets on who will take out the biggest name Seeky before we're done on this mudball."

Smokescreen hurried through the corridors of the Ark-22 in an effort to beat Wheeljack back to his laboratory. All the while the rallybot held on to Tracer’s hand as he practically dragged her along with him. They passed by several other mechs in the halls but did not stop to chat with any of them. It would have only delayed things even further. Smokey almost felt like a protoform who had stayed out too late after cycle. It wasn’t that he was afraid of the mad scientist. Far from it. The diversion expert just didn’t want to be lectured about going easy in his new body or the dangers of taking a hallucinating femme out of the lab. The rallybot knew the risks and he was willing to take them if it meant helping the blue and white scout.

Before long, Smokescreen and Tracer had reached the lab doors where the rallybot stopped and looked over at Tracer. "Now, if he happens to be in there, let me do all the talking. Okay?" The troubled femme gave him a simple nod of understanding before Smokey's attention returned to the access pad. He quickly typed in the security code that Wheeljack had given him the last time he had to leave the premises. The door slid open and the pair quickly entered into the main lab area. Once the door had closed and locked again, Smokey took a quick look around the vast room, seeing that the replicator was still situated on the workbench where it had been prior to their little trip. Everything else seemed to be where they had left it, as well, and no one else was present. “Looks like we made it back before ‘Jack did," the red and blue mech said, letting out a deep sigh of relief. He turned to look at Tracer and smiled. “Thank Primus! No lecture! Heh."

"Ahem," the sound came from seemingly out of nowhere. Smokescreen spun around, letting go of Tracer’s hand in the process to see the form of Wheeljack standing in the doorway that lead into the back room. The engineer’s arms were crossed and while his faceshield was still in place, Smokey could just imagine that a frown was deeply etched on his friend’s faceplate underneath. “Mind telling me where have you two have been while I was gone?"

“Wheeljack! I didn’t see you over there, buddy. When did you get back?" Smokescreen asked with a slight nervous chuckle in this vocals.

“Oh, I just got back about half a breem ago and you didn’t see me at first because I was in the back room wondering where the frag you were at! I was about to comm you when you ended up walking through the door just now!" Wheeljack replied angrily as he uncrossed his arms and walked over to the love-struck pair. “Do you two realize just how worried I was when I returned to find the place void of one diversion expert and one drug addicted femme? What the frag were you two thinking just leaving without letting me know where you were going or getting my approval? What if something had happened out there, especially considering Tracer’s current hallucinogenic state? What if she mistook someone else for an orderly from the asylum? She could've reacted badly and brought unwanted attention to herself and likewise to all of us!"

“She’s what? She’s fine?" Wheeljack glanced over Smokescreen’s shoulder and looked the troubled femme up and down before returning his gaze to the rallybot. “I don’t see how that’s possible. She was still in pretty bad shape when I left."

“I know. I took her over to her quarters on the Guardian in order to help jog her memories. When we got there, Tracer looked through all of her personal belongings and she began remembering more and more of her past along with the present. On the way back here, she told me that she remembered everything. So, what we did worked. She’s back to normal now, or at least normal for her anyway," Smokescreen explained to Wheeljack as he stepped forward and placed a friendly hand on the engineer's shoulder plating. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about our trip, ‘Jack. You appeared to be preoccupied with whatever Ultra Magnus wanted. I kept a close watch on Tracer and she didn’t interact with anyone else, so everything’s good. Nothing to worry about. Okay?"

Wheeljack looked his long time friend square in the optics as the rallybot told him what they had been doing. The scientist had to admit that it made sense for Tracer to look through her things to help regain her memories and it had apparently worked. Leave it to Smokey, who knew her better than anyone, to find a way to make her memories whole again. Letting out a deep sigh of his own, the white mech ran one hand down the length of his faceshield before looking up at the diversion expert once more. “Okay, Smokes, I understand why you left, but you still took a great risk going out without letting me or even Axle know first. I’m assuming he didn’t know, either. It doesn’t matter now. At least you’re both back safe and sound."

Smokescreen withdrew his hand from Wheeljack’s shoulder as the mechanical engineer moved away and walked over to the replicator situated on the primary workbench. The scientist make a few additional adjustments before turning back around the face the pair. “Okay, here’s the deal. My meeting with Magnus yielded a new project for me and a group of like-minded mechs to work on. It’s a pretty big assignment that will occupy most of my time for the foreseeable future, I’m afraid. That means that you two will have to fend for yourselves for the most part. Axle will still be around but I’ll be extremely busy. Now, I’ve made the necessary adjustments to the replicator, reducing the hallucinogen element to a more manageable level. Tracer shouldn’t have any more problems with her memory when she doses up again. All you have to do is activate the device when you need another vile of Syk. Got it?"

“Sure thing, ‘Jack. No problem," Smokescreen responded, intrigued by what his friend had just told him. “So, what kind of big project are you going to be working on?"

“Magnus said that we’re establishing a new Autobot base down on the Earth’s surface and he wants me and some other science bots and engineers to develop new technologies that we will utilize once the settlement is operational. I don’t know much more than that."

“Wow, a new base with all new tech?!" Smokescreen exclaimed with excitement as he glanced over at Tracer who was equally as intrigued by the news. The rallybot then returned his attention to Wheeljack before continuing. “You think there’s anything the two of us can do to help? I mean, we can’t remain cooped up in your lab forever."

“Well, you haven’t exactly been cooped up in here lately, now have you?"

“Touché," the red and blue mech admitted with a slight chuckle.

“Sorry, Smokes, but I think it’s better if you two just stay here for a little while longer. I’ll contact Axle once I leave and let him know what’s going on. Perhaps he’ll have something for you to do. Remember, he’s the one who has to clear both of you for active duty. Until then you guys have to take it easy. Understand?"

“Yeah, yeah, sure thing, ‘Jack. Whatever you say," Smokey responded with a wave of his hand. “How about we start by cleaning up your lab, put it into some kind of discernible order? Sound fine to you?"

“That’s actually not a bad idea," Wheeljack said as he peered around the room at the mess of things that were just lying around. It wasn’t quite as bad as Tracer’s quarters had been, but it wasn’t great, either. “All right, I have to get going. If there’s an emergency and you can’t get a hold of Axle, I’ll be down in the science labs. Just comm me." The engineer’s words trailed off as he went about gathering up a variety of tools and other scientific devices that he would possibly need for the upcoming project. Placing them all into his trusty toolkit, the mad scientist made his way towards the door, stopping to look back at Smokescreen and Tracer. “Again, I’m sorry that I can’t be around to help as much. You should be fine with the replicator, though. Just don’t mess with the settings. Okay?"

“Never," the diversion expert shot back with a wide, mischievous grin. Saying no more, the scientist only shook his cranium before exiting the lab and disappearing from sight. Smokescreen then turned back to look at Tracer. “Well, that went better than expected, don’t you think?"

Jetfire wasn’t too surprised when Perceptor acknowledged him without turning around. The more scientific types like Perceptor and himself were known for sometimes being a bit withdrawn and focused on the task at hand. Other Autobots, particularly the more social ones, would be insulted or startled by the cold reaction. Jetfire had served in various scientific departments to know that no offense was intended. The large Autobot waited patiently for further acknowledgement from the scientist.

Finally his fellow Autobot turned and explained his conundrum. It was a difficult and frustrating position to be in; hopefully he could add a fresh perspective on the topic. “I wouldn’t recommend testing it on yourself at the very least. Should there be unexpected results or side effects that incapacitate you we would lose access to the preeminent expert on the fuel. I honestly wouldn’t recommend testing it on any living subject yet. Perhaps we could rig up a simulated Cybertronian body, at least the power core and circulatory system, and test it on that? There should be enough spare parts on the ship to construct such a test subject. If the results of that are satisfactory then there is no further step then to test it on a live subject."

The Autobot flier offered Perceptor a smile as he mentioned the meeting of the minds that had been arranged. “Of course, perhaps we can discuss that testing at a future date. My offer of assistance remains open whenever you need it." Jetfire turned to a computer console and quickly punched up the personnel files on the Autobots coming to join them. He was quite familiar with Wheeljack’s work, of course, but not so much with the others. It was an eclectic group to be sure. It almost seemed like the start of a bad joke. ‘A communication’s expert, weapons designer and maintenance specialist walk into an energon bar…' He wasn’t entirely sure what they were meeting about, but it was sure to be an interesting discussion.

Jetfire turned as Blaster entered the room, followed quickly by Ironfist. He nodded in return to their distinctive greetings. “Greetings Blaster, Ironfist. I’m interested to see what sort of project we will be working on."

>>"Understood, ‘Jack. Unfortunately I am also indisposed at the moment, but I will make every effort to stop by the lab to check on the two of them. They shouldn’t need to use the replicator any time soon. The dose I gave to Tracer should last for approximately five days. As far as finding something for them to do…I’ll need to think on that. Anyway, good luck and if anything comes up I’ll call you."<<

Wheeljack’s Lab

Upon entry into the mechanical engineer’s hold Tracer remained safely behind Smokescreen, her hand still held in his, as he took the time to look around the immediate area. When he turned to look at her and smiled Tracer’s tension eased up enough to flash the red and blue mech a small smile of her own. She was just about to comment on his relief of not receiving a lecture when something caught her attention.

Tracer nearly stumbled back and into the door when Wheeljack appeared out of the back room. The femme released a low groan as she looked at the scientist. He’d emerged with his faceshield in place and his arms crossed over his chest. She said nothing, instead she concluded that the best course of action was to let the diversionary expert take over and try to explain what they’d been up to.

Everything Smokescreen had confessed appeared to placate Wheeljack and he back off slightly. There was a lecture, but it wasn’t as bad as she had thought it was, or as bad as it could have been. Tracer’s interest was piqued slightly, and the dressing down forgotten, at the mention of the possible construction of a new base back on Earth. She hadn’t been on the planet for long and she was tempted to head back down. If only to have a better look around. Her hopes were dashed, however, when Wheeljack declared that they’d be better off staying put and that only when Axle deemed them well enough would they be allowed to leave the lab. Active duty would obviously not be allowed unless Axle said so. Tracer let out a low sigh of disappointment.

Smokescreen’s suggestion of cleaning up the lab was not one she would have preferred and instead of eagerly agreeing the femme gave a firm poke to the back of the blue and red mech’s arm. “Seriously? I hate cleaning my own quarters and you’ve volunteered me to clean ‘Jack’s place?" She moaned into his audio.

Once Wheeljack had left and the door had closed Tracer crossed her arms over her chest and sent Smokescreen a grimace. “The confrontation went just fine." She lowered her arms and took a slow step toward him. “It’s the housekeeping I’m not very happy with." Tracer said while she jabbed a finger into his chestplate. But her irritated expression quickly faded replaced by a much more serene look.

Her lips curled upward slightly as she shook her head. “You’re lucky I love you or you’d be doing all the cleaning yourself." Tracer walked past him letting her hand lightly brush across his. “I’ll get some energon for Razr while you start. Now…" the femme huffed. "…where does ‘mister danger’ keep his dispenser?"

Science Lab

“Hmmm. That isn’t a bad Idea, Jetfire." Perceptor spun around in his chair and looked up at the taller scientist. “But as you said, my work on the ore will have to be put on hold. At least until we find out why Wheeljack has gathered us all here." From his seat he peered around the jet-former and gave a slight nod to Blaster and Iron Fist who had just recently arrived. Why both were needed was something Wheeljack would have to explain. As, he was sure Jetfire was thinking, the two were not scientists but instead were masters in their respective fields of communications and ballistics engineering. With a mental shrug Perceptor simply decided to go with the flow…for now at least.

“Was the purpose of this meeting revealed to any of you as of yet, or will we be required to bide our time before our administrator arrives?"

Smokescreen flinched slightly when Tracer had given him a firm poke in his back and then again when she jabbed her digit into his chest plating. She was clearly not happy about being volunteered to clean up Wheeljack’s mess, making her feelings known in no uncertain terms. Thankfully, her stern look didn’t last very long as her features softened into a much less frightening visage. “Yes, I am very lucky," the rallybot confessed as the troubled femme walked by him, allowing her hand to gently touch his. “And I’m sorry I volunteered you for housekeeping duty. I was just trying to find something for us to do, and I didn’t think you’d mind. If you’d rather rest up and take care of Razr for a while, I don’t mind doing the work, myself."

Not waiting for a response, Smokescreen walked over to the nearest work benches and began gathering up the various tools and equipment that were strewn about in no ascertainable order. The diversion expert quickly stowed away the larger hardware in a storage locker while the smaller implements fit nicely inside a drawer. “I tell you, Trace, Wheeljack has so many places where he can store things, it’s amazing he’s able to find all his stuff. I mean, nothing’s marked. I really don’t know how he does it." Smokey then perked his cranium up, an idea forming within his processor. “Hmmm, maybe once I’m done cleaning I should print out some labels for him. He might find that helpful. It’s the least I can do considering all he’s done for me lately."

With his mind made up, Smokescreen went about tidying up other areas of the lab. Towards the back, he found that there were still several crates full of equipment from Cybertron that the mechanical engineer never had a chance to unpack. The white mech had recently been diverted from such mundane tasks, after all. Perhaps it was finally time to move the scientist fully into his new abode. Opening the lid of the first container he came upon, the red and blue racer began unloading the contents within. It was easy to empty, placing everything temporarily onto worktables and even the floor. What wasn’t so easy was finding an area to put all of the extra equipment in a nice, orderly fashion. Disarray was simple; order and neatness, not so much.

Smokescreen let out a sigh as he looked around the lab. The back storage closet was the most likely place to put everything, not to mention the largest space left available. “I can see now why you were upset at the prospect of cleaning, Trace. Heh. This is going to take more effort than I thought, especially now that I’ve found these extra crates back here. Plus, I’m only on the first one. Sheesh. How much stuff does one mad scientist need anyway?"

Science Lab

Wheeljack sent a non-verbal acknowledgement back to Axle as the mechanical engineer made his way through the corridors of the Autobot vessel. The science lab was his intended destination and he arrived there in approximately one breem after leaving Smokescreen and Tracer alone in his lab. Assuming, of course, they were even still there. Smokey said that they were going to clean up for him, but knowing those two they’ve probably already scurried off somewhere on another one of their little adventures. Hopefully, they would keep out of trouble no matter what they ended up doing.

Entering the science lab, Wheeljack found that the majority of his team were present and accounted for plus one additional member in the form of certain red and white flier. Only Hoist was missing from the equation, but ‘Jack was certain that the green mechanic would arrive sooner rather than later. “Greetings, gentlemechs!" The engineer stated cheerfully as he gave a curt nod to Jetfire, Perceptor, Iron Fist and Blaster. “I have to say that I’m very excited about what is in store for each of us, including you, Jetfire. I know that you didn’t get the initial invite, but you’re more than welcome to join our newly formed science team if you like. Primus knows that your expertise will be greatly appreciated with the multitude of tasks that have been assigned to us by Ultra Magnus."

Wheeljack then placed his toolkit down on a nearby table before turning to face his team once again. “First off, I want to apologize for my lateness. I had a few things to take care of down in my lab which delayed me a bit. Now that I’m here, I look forward to dedicating my time to this upcoming endeavor. I see that Hoist appears to be the only one of our group that is missing, but I think we can get started anyway. He can easily be brought up to speed once he arrives."

The mechanical engineer took a deep intake of air into his systems as he prepared to speak. “I recently had a meeting with Ultra Magnus where he revealed to me that we are in the scouting and planning stages of building a new Autobot City down on the surface of Sol-3, also known as Earth. He has put us together, along with anyone else I may require, in order to develop new technologies and modify old ones that will be utilized in the base’s cycle to cycle operations. This can be anything from new forms of waste disposal to natural ore refinement to bigger issues such as transportation and defense.

“Now, there are two primary tasks of top importance that Magnus would like us to focus much of our efforts on. Both of these tasks involves modifying older technologies, which I have already been given the appropriate schematics for. The first is converting an ancient space bridge design into a scaled down version that I have dubbed a ground bridge. It will be a new means of transporting mechs and equipment from one part of the planet to another. Orbital bounces will be a thing of the past as Magnus feels they are too dangerous to keep in operation due to the fact that the ‘Cons could trace the bounce beams back to their origin point. A ground bridge is an alternative that is virtually untraceable."

Wheeljack paused for a moment to let what he had just explained sink in to every mech present. “The second task involves modifying the designs of old Teletraan Sky Spy modules. Instead of serving as solely our optics and audios up in orbit, they will also more importantly serve as a virtual net or shield that will prevent the 'Cons from utilizing their own orbital bounce technology. Magnus wants the planet inaccessible to our enemies and this ‘SkyShield’ will hopefully make that a reality."

The mechanical engineer looked at each of the assembled scientists and engineers in front of him, trying to gauge their reactions to the massive undertaking he had just laid out for them. “I can see by some of your expressions that this may seem a bit overwhelming to you. However, I am more than confident in all of your abilities to get the job done. Together, we will accomplish these ongoing set of tasks and make our new Autobot City a permanent and safe home here on Earth."

Wheeljack’s faceshield then retracted, revealing a warm, friendly smile underneath. “Now, let’s open the floor to any questions and/or meaningful discussions on specifics of the upcoming project. Brainstorming and teamwork will be essential parts of the process here, and I want everyone’s opinions and ideas to be heard."

Ironfist shrugged his shoulders as he pulled his tool sash from around his head and set it to the floor. He had not been given details to this vital meeting of the minds, in fact all he had known about it was the initial transfer orders he had received from Wheeljack. A simple rub of his chin was all he could muster to Jetfire's question, after a brief greetings and nod to both he and Perceptor.

The hiss of the doors soon revealed their mysterious benefactor engineer. Ironfist paused briefly and moved away from the bay doors. Without a word he hefted up his tools satchel and slung it over his free shoulder. A few steps later he found himself comfortably settled on a stool behind one of the smaller work benches.

The briefing began as swiftly as Wheeljack had managed to get himself set up. It was swift and to the point. "A new Autobot City?" Ironfist could not help but loose a small amount of awe into his muted question. From what he had remembered, Optimus had wanted to avoid such constructions on the planet below. However, it was swiftly apparent that Ultra Magnus had other opinions on the matter. And from the ever growing number of Decepticons in system, from a tactical prospective it made a small amount of sense to fortify their position. But to create a permanent settlement on a planet of savage organics?

The rest of the briefing was just as illuminating as the initial statement. "Wait," he barely contained his outburst. But it was too late and attention had been seized. Not necessarily a mech of charisma nor of the sort who sought the spotlight, all optics were now upon him... and Ironfist could feel their prying processors drill into his armor plates. There was little choice left but to at least verbalize what was on his mind. "Let me get this straight, as you say it is a touch much to take in on an initial dose. Magnus wants us to inessence turn Sol-3 into a fortress planet? That does seem a bit counter intuitive to the idea of Autobots do not Conquer."

He paused briefly, "Regardless of that, the task he has put before us is rather interesting. To revise old technology could inspire some interesting newer applications in modern arsenal development."

Beretta was holding one of her heavy pistols out in front, aiming at the dummy targets with steady manual actuators. Something was still amiss, though. She found this stationary practice utterly uncomfortable. How on Cybertron Dragu managed to lie still for cycles and then take a perfect shot, she'd never get the hang of.

She pulled the trigger. A muzzle flare, a deep bang and a fist-sized ball of flame and puffing smoke blooming just under the chin of the mech-shaped target cobbled together from totaled and excess parts. Her explosive round found its mark.

She fired again several times. The roar of her gun echoed repeatedly in the large chamber. The dummy suffered more bursts, some dead-centered on vital body areas, some barely grazing arms or legs. And a very, very few misses, too.

Slag.

Achieved hit percentage flickered on her HUD. She wasn't impressed, even if it could have been a lot worse. With a frown, Beretta spun the gun on her finger and slid it neatly into the holster mag-locked to her thigh-plate.

If this was going to continue, she was going to lose that bet.

"Well, Arcee, it's your turn now," Beretta said and turned to the other femme standing behind her and to the left with arms crossed over her chest. A cocky smirk crept across her face. "Just make sure you do a better job."

Tracer paused in her search for the energon dispenser when Smokescreen admitted that he’d thought the activity would do them both some good…just standing around the scientist’s lab was enough to push the femme over the edge. In truth getting things in order here would do her some good, and possibly teach her a lesson in organization. Of course she was concerned that the object of her affection had been surprised by her sudden aggressive behavior.

She turned around and sent Smokescreen a warm smile as she moved to stand in front of him. She kept her optics glued to his as she reached out and took a hold of his hands. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get angry with you." The smile on her face faded slightly as she lowered her gaze to the floor. “The Syk is working, but since it’s not the full dose…" She paused for a moment trying to find the right words to describe just how things seemed to work. “It’s really hard to describe to someone who’s never been through...you know…an episode."

Tracer let her hands drop to her sides. “You know how you feel when you’re working the cards at the casino and you wind up winning that huge pot? You’re elated. Well, for me I’ll feel elated, but then that feeling just suddenly shifts…like someone’s pulled the rug right out from beneath me." She lifted her head back up and gave Smokescreen a halfhearted smile. “I doubt that’s even the best description. I mean, I’m the only one I even know of who has this problem." She shrugged. “I guess the better way to describe it is like I’m on an emotional elevator and I have no clue what floor I’ll stop at."

The scout tilted her head slightly to one side and thought for a moment. “Yeah. I’d say that’s a much better description." A moment passed of quiet contemplation before she finally looked back up at Smokescreen with a wide grin on her face. “Anyway, I don’t want you doing all the work yourself. Buuuut…." She took a glance over his shoulder at the storage closet Smokescreen had been working in. “Maybe we should stick with organizing the items that we actually recognize. I mean, I don’t want to disturb anything that just may blow a hole in the hull of the ship."

She chuckled as she shook her head. “Give me a minute to get something for Razr and I’ll give you a hand." Tracer backed away and whistled for the turbofox who trotted happily into the main lab. She perked up when she finally spotted the energon dispenser. After locating something to use as a bowl she filled the container set it on the floor and moved back to the red and blue rallybot. “You know, I was thinking, maybe after we get this place in order we could…oh I don’t know…take a walk?" Tracer gave him a pleading look.

Science Lab

Perceptor’s question hung in the air for only a moment before Wheeljack had finally entered the lab. The scientist turned sniper returned the engineer’s nod before setting comfortably in his chair. He crossed his arms over his chest as Wheeljack began to address the lot of them.

Everything said was absorbed and quickly analyzed by the scientist. It all seemed an interesting endeavor; however it was a daunting task even for the gathered minds present. That didn’t mean it couldn’t be done. What Perceptor was more concerned about was the ore that still needed to be tested. And if he knew the Decepticons, and he did, they had already refined the ore and had already implemented it. To him the most pressing matter was getting their sample tested and put to use.

“It certainly would be quite an undertaking. However, there is another matter that needs our attention." Perceptor glanced in Jetfire’s direction before gesturing over his shoulder with a slight jerk of his head. “The sample of ore that I had acquired from the site of the decimated Decepticon base." He paused for a moment as he looked at Wheeljack that newly acquired dour expression etched on his face. “I’ve refined it and it’s now ready for testing." He glanced at the others in the room before settling his attention back on the engineer. “There is a very high probability that the Decepticons have already refined and have put into use the ore. That is something we cannot afford to ignore."